Trump, Pence to tour flood damage in Louisiana

by Jesse Byrnes - 08/18/16 8:39 PM ET

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, are reportedly traveling to disaster-stricken Louisiana on Friday.

Trump and Pence will head to the flood-ravaged area of Baton Rouge, La., according to ABC News and CNN.

{mosads}Trump opened his speech at a rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday night by remarking on the “heartbreak and devastation in Louisiana” and offered his condolences.

“We are one nation. When one state hurts, we all hurt, and we must all work together to lift each other up. Working, building, restoring together,” he said.

President Obama on Wednesday received a briefing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the deadly floods that washed over Louisiana.

About 40,000 homes had seen damage from the flooding and more than 70,000 people had registered for FEMA assistance, according to the White House.

The White House announced that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson would visit the state on Thursday to review the scene after Obama on Sunday declared it a federal disaster.

Obama, who received his briefing by phone during his vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., has received criticism for not visiting the site of the severe flooding and storms, which has left 13 people dead.

A Louisiana newspaper on Thursday called for Obama to cut his vacation short, saying, “A disaster this big begs for the personal presence of the President at ground zero.”

Baton Rouge is also the site where three police officers were killed and three more wounded in a shooting last month in a city that had been in the spotlight over the police-involved shooting death of a black man outside of a convenient store.

Tags Donald Trump Louisiana Mike Pence